∅
Soon it will be twenty years since I published this book in France. At that moment I was quite aware of having written a ‘great’ book of philosophy. I felt that I had actually achieved what I had set out to do. Not without pride, I though I had inscribed my name in the history of philosophy, and in particular, in the history of those philosophical systems which are the subject of interpretations and commentaries throughout the centuries.
— Alain Badiou, Being and Event
How do you know what is a “primary text,” particularly if you’ve written it? Not that I disagree with Badiou, I think it’s clear that Being and Event is, as it were, a work of philosophy rather than one of commentary. As is attested by the difficulty of reading the book, the effort required to wrap your head around new concepts. Still, it’s worth it; I’m surprised to find myself excited by, say, Badiou’s argument leading up to the axiom of the null set. (∃x)¬(∃y)(y∈x), Badiou points out, asserts only the existence of non-existence (of a negation), the barest ontological minimum.
Anyway, the Weblog’s Badiou reading group has begun (schedule).
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